Latin Artists Breaking Ground In European Markets: Q’s With Live Nation’s Hans Schafer

While some reports about the live music business — lawsuits, cancellations, slow ticket sales, excitement for festivals waning, etc. — can make one a little wary of the industry’s projected growth over the next several years, there is hope of what Pollstar dubbed as the Golden Age 3.0 to keep going strong. It lies in the one genre that has consistently set new records in streaming revenue and ticket sales every year in the past decade.

Latin music is a major force in the live entertainment industry, and Live Nation is well aware of the genre’s reach and potential with artists such as Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma and Feid selling out arenas and stadiums across the globe. The promoter has helped urban-influenced genres such as reggaeton and corridos tumbados become mainstream, especially with Karol G’s massively successful global tour. The Colombian artist achieved superstar status by selling out stadiums in the U.S. and grossing $144.57 million in 2023, according to Pollstar’s Boxoffice.

It’s a feat that Hans Schafer, Live Nation’s senior vice president of global touring, is certainly proud of, but what he finds more impressive is the fact that Karol G is projected to have similar success for the European leg of her “Mañana Será Bonito Tour,” which kicks off June 8 in Switzerland. He chatted with Pollstar about Karol G’s upcoming European run, how Latin music builds off that success and what he’s excited about in 2024 and beyond.

Pollstar: What’s the state of Latin touring so far in 2024?

Hans Schafer: We’re continuing to see more growth, with artists going bigger but also more developing artists coming onto the scene faster, selling tickets. But it’s been phenomenal seeing on the heels of Karol’s incredibly successful stadium run in the U.S. and then continued success this year throughout Latin America, and now getting ready for what I think is one of the most exciting things she has accomplished, which is the European leg of her tour. She is breaking into new territories and breaking records in those territories, showing how big that growth and that potential market can be in some unexpected places.

What can you tell me about routing the European leg of her tour and the significance of a Latin artist hitting markets like Belgium and Switzerland?

For Karol specifically, it’s unprecedented. We haven’t seen a Latin artist sell tickets of this magnitude in both speed and number of tickets. So we’re seeing multiples in Milan, we’re seeing multiples in Paris, four stadium shows in Madrid — which no artist has done. In the Bernabeu, she’ll be the first artist to do it. But looking at some of these other markets — like we’re going to Antwerp [in Belgium] — the demand actually pointed to say there was more. Most of these markets sold very quickly on the onsale.

We’ll see what that turns into in the next iteration, but the growth is pointing that this will continue and the success that you’ve seen her achieve both in the U.S. and throughout Latin America and stadiums is the direction that her growth is headed for in Europe, which is a promising healthy sign for all Latin [artists].

When we talk about the planning stages [for the European leg], breaking markets, Karol is so intimately involved — from looking at the data, speaking with our local markets about shows that have gone out there, taking a look at what those demographic breakups are. The trend is that the landscape has shifted. There’s obviously been huge waves of immigration from different countries. … You’re seeing [Latin] culture sort of infuse itself in the cities at all different levels, and all those things are that canary we’re following and looking for that opportunity where we can try some things out.

While it’s great to see so many Latin acts on the road, how do you build on the success of all the artists Live Nation works with in a way that doesn’t saturate the market?

I think it’s becoming increasingly important for artists to have a reason to go out. Not just on the whims of success, but really that there’s a strategy we work through on the artists in terms of the music plans, the releases, seeing how those releases track and have successes in specific markets.

And you join in with the creativity. The Live Nation footprint globally and local teams on the ground develop some creative, historic moments like the Los Bukis residency in Las Vegas. That’s the first regional Mexican band with a residency in Las Vegas. It’s a show we’ve seen before but it’s the packaging, it’s the only place where you could go see Los Bukis. So reinventing our own strategies along with the artists’ strategy is how you keep that sustainability.

We’ve seen so much happen in live Latin music biz the past few years. Does anything surprise you anymore? What trends are you noticing this year that excite you?

The amount of firsts artists are achieving in terms of stadiums, and the productions they’re putting on for the fans, which Feid has done on his tour. The show is truly spectacular. The artist’s creativity to push and reach new markets, to give new experiences to fans is a driving force for our excitement, for our creativity of connecting those fans.

The other piece that is incredibly exciting is the new markets. The reach we’re seeing with these artists, we’ve not yet seen how far they can go down. There’s certainly plans of [business in] Australia and Asia. Some of those markets have been untapped for a very long time, and working through the challenges of not just selling tickets in those markets but reaching those markets, and having global partners with local boots on the ground that give you one team globally to support your vision and understands your production and then has the capacity and reach to give you a local feel. We’re seeing it with Feid’s shows that we’re doing in Latin America; Kali Uchis will be embarking on a global tour; Shakira will also be going around the globe. Those are very exciting opportunities for me — that growth and that drive into new markets.